“I believe that digital advertising is just another tool in the general media world. The economic downturn and slashed budgets have increased the need to think out of the box. One the benefits of digital media is that you can measure analytics in real time.
I also believe that advertising will become more personalized as we delve into Social Media. But as the Internet world becomes saturated with constant messages, we will have to go back to the basics: Good creative!” – WST

Here’s one of the things we do at Forrester Research: we interview as many marketers as we can about their plans, identify trends and project future likely conditions, and then we put together some numbers to make a projection. If you’ve ever seen a Forrester projection, it comes from a process like this.

This means that inside every projection is an idea or ten about the future. Those ideas can be powerful, and they come from research with marketers and consumers.

In this recession, marketers have learned that interactive marketing is more effective, and advertising less effective, per dollar spent. While budgets for online have decreased, they decreased less than other budgets. Six out of ten marketers we surveyed agreed with the statement “we will increase budget for interactive by shifting money away from traditional marketing.” Only 7% said “we have no plans to increase our marketing budget.”

Unlike the last recession, digital marketing is no longer experimental. Now it looks more like advertising is inefficient, relative to digital. More than half of the marketers we surveyed said that effectiveness of direct mail, TV, magazines, outdoor, newspapers, and radio would stay the same or decrease within three years. In contrast, well over 70% expected the effectiveness of channels like created social media, online video, and mobile marketing to increase. Read More.

More and more companies are turning to Social Media Strategies. In spite of all this attention there is still an element of weariness at the though of putting a profile on Facebook, MySpace or LinkedIn.After 4 years of eating and breathing Social Media I thought I would put a few notes together to help others take the plunge.

The hooks: The why and where.
Way back in 2004, my daughter, still in high school, soon to be a graduate and off to college, announced that now she could finally get herself a Facebook profile. At the time it was open only to college students. Needless to mention I was intrigued. I already had a MySpace profile for the company and could not see it being of much use. Once Facebook opened its doors to the general audience I was the first to get an account.

To my surprise I found that I was networking with my peers and I discovered that not only I could post information but I got lots of good resources in exchange. I joined every group, downloaded every app and made tons of friends. I was now officially part of a community that could benefit my business. I was now hooked!

The arguments: Building a business with no time to spare
The more I shared our information, the more traffic came to our website. For very little cost I was able to create massive brand awareness. I saw a steady increase from month to month and a steady increase in lead generation. I devised a system that enabled me to do my actual work and make some time for networking. 20 minutes 3 times a day. For example: the phone call to a client became a personal wall post on Facebook and I began fielding inquiries through LinkedIn.

Introductory programs: Business benefits
As I progressed I discovered other Social Marketing Sites. There are many very good ones out there but I only have room for a few key ones:

Facebook has a “fan page” feature and a “groups page” here you can promote your products and services to your network of friends and colleagues. You can also create vertical groups for your “niche” pages.

LinkedIn is the choice for the corporate set and is strictly networking. One of the features is an answers box, here you can share expertise in your field.

MerchantCircle allows you to market your business in the neighborhood, it is a “business in a box” concept with all the tools you need to promote your services online.

Twitter is a micro-blog that allows you to post 140 characters. Here you can share relevant links, talk to your fans and follow relevant posts. The more followers you get the more visible you become.

YouTube speaks for itself. Needless to mention it exemplifies the power of viral marketing.

For those still wondering, I recommend that you work closely with your online marketing agency to establish a social media time allotment, which profiles make sense and what the ROI could be. And of course watch the metrics.

TeamWork Builds Web SuccessThe Web Success Team specializes in building and marketing direct response websites that take full advantage of the latest developments on the Internet. The Team has an arsenal of effective web strategies, online tools and proven techniques to promote your products and services. And we’ll show you ways to increase the amount of qualified traffic to your site through the expanding “social web” and how to convert visitors into buyers at a high rate of return.

Your website can become an effective marketing hub for your business. To learn more about the power of Direct Response Web Marketing, log on to Why Direct Response.

Planning your video to make the most of that 1 to 3 minutes of eyeball attention means paying attention to the who, what, and why of your video. You may be using free or low cost video production methods, but your time is valuable. Take the time to plan your video, and you’ll be happier with your video results.